01 Specialized M4 s works fsr ?

Here's deal. Im 50 yr old, 5'9" 170. Ride wth my kids and have a GT " fitness" bike but want more to ride the trails, smaller jumps on the downhills [ 5' or so] found this bike wth upgraded crank/ susp etc... is in real good shape for $400. Or should I go wth new bike 500-1000 range. Kind of lost as nobody my age rides mtb here to get advice from but lots of places to ride around Mo. I know the specialized is pretty old but was a real good bike in its day and not sure how much better tech is now. Could I possibly upgrade this bike for myself? thanks for any help. Steve

Do you mean 5 foot jumps on your dh runs? Which model Specialized? Elaborate a little further on the type of riding you will be doing, this will better help me in letting you know what you should get. I've been racing for two years now and have ridden every type of bike on every type of trail, ask away.

If you're riding trails with jumps in the 5 foot range, I would look past the sworks. But there is nothing wrong with that bike, 5 feet will be pushing it but anything less than that the bike will provide the type of riding you're looking for. $400 might be a little steep considering it is 12 years old, you can go to a local bike shop and see what left over '13 models that are still in stock, you could find a specialized camber around the $1,000 mark. Especially other companies like GT and Giant to name a few.

Talked wth couple guys in " beginner" forum and they found a couple bikes on craigslist here in Mo. Going to ck out a Jamis Dakar XAM 1.0 in couple days when I get back home. Most riding will be in the steep hills we have around here. They have rock drop offs with different heights. All have pretty steep " run outs" so don't expect real hard hits. Raced MX for years wth kids but they are off to college now. Just needing more than a " town bike" for what I want to do. Any advice appreciated. Just can't justify spending a lot right now but do know I need something decent to start out with. Thanks

Very nice, that was one thing I wished my dad got me into when I was younger. I loved playing baseball and soccer but biking has always gotten me going. There is just something about being on your bike deep in the woods.

What year is the Jamis? Yeah I would go with something in the trail range, the fsr is more cross country. A modern day cross country bike could fit the bill, but the older ones not so much. The geometry of the trail bike will suit you better; slacker headtube, seat tube, and more travel will better benefit you in the long run. It's much better to get a bike that your skills can grow into, if you desire to ride a certain way, which is much better than to get something that inhibits your skills after only a year of riding. But what you're doing is the right way to go, buying used and learn to ride into a category of biking you like, then you will better know exactly the bike you want. Then you can spend the big bucks on that later on.

I bought an AM bike as my first mountain bike knowing that I would eventually be riding in that category, even though at first I was horrible, but now I'm pushing the boundaries of this bike and could not be happier with it. You just have to have a general idea of what you eventually want to get yourself involved in, and buy a bike that may require more skill than you currently have now but will grow into, skill wise.

But do look for a trail bike with suspension travel in the 3"+ category, or what your budget will allow.

You can also check pinkbike, there are always a ton of used bikes posted there for sale.